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left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
Sat Jul 21, 2018, 10:05 AM Jul 2018

Navy commander pleads guilty to drug charge; faces 20 years in prison

A San Diego Navy commander with 23 years of military service pleaded guilty to a drug charge Friday in San Diego federal court, admitting that he conspired to buy and sell ecstasy and other drugs ... over at least an 18-month period that ended with his March arrest at his Hillcrest (San Diego) condo.

Adolph Garza, 54, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, and a fine up to $500,000, when he’s sentenced in December. He pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances by internet.

While serving the search warrant at Garza’s residence, inspectors from the U.S. Postal Service and special agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service seized ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine, amphetamine and other controlled substances.

According to court documents, a package of ecstasy from the Netherlands was bound for Garza’s condo unit on Aug. 12, 2016, when it was intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigators at the Chicago International Mail Facility. It was the first of more than a dozen packages sent to Garza that was found to contain illegal drugs, according to Postal Inspector David Jones.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/sd-me-commander-plea-20180720-story.html

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Navy commander pleads guilty to drug charge; faces 20 years in prison (Original Post) left-of-center2012 Jul 2018 OP
Omg. Party boat. Crutchez_CuiBono Jul 2018 #1
Traitor needs to serve the entire 20 years. nt oasis Jul 2018 #2
He is lucky they went after him in Federal Court and not Military Lee-Lee Jul 2018 #3

Crutchez_CuiBono

(7,725 posts)
1. Omg. Party boat.
Sat Jul 21, 2018, 10:11 AM
Jul 2018

Real dangerous to have junkies on a war ship. Captive audience/customers though. I guess it's true that people order this stuff through the GD mail. Wow.

 

Lee-Lee

(6,324 posts)
3. He is lucky they went after him in Federal Court and not Military
Sat Jul 21, 2018, 10:33 AM
Jul 2018

Had they elected to go after him under the UCMJ instead of civilian law he would have probably faced twice the sentence or longer.

A jury of his peers would mean all officers of his rank or greater, who would be less tolerant of his actions than a civilian jury and likewise a military judge isn’t going to tolerate that and would probably push a maximum sentance.

He would have been facing dozens of charges each that could have been sentenced to anywhere from 5-15 years for each charge.

And they wouldn’t have made a plea deal that was that generous had it been a military prosecutor, because they know they are more likely to get a conviction and strong sentance in military court and there is far less chance of something happening at the trial that get him off.

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